Jaron Ennis Looks Regular In Victory (Again); Bam Rodriguez Blasts Through Guevara

Jaron “Boots” Ennis was frustrated in victory for a second time by Karen Chukhadzhian, but in an entirely different way.

Although Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) would defend his IBF welterweight title successfully via unanimous decision against his mandatory contender by scores of 119-107, 117-109, and 116-110, the win was another momentum-stalling outing against the Ukrainian.

In the first meeting, back in January of 2023, Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs) gave Ennis problems with his movement and awkward positioning, but he lost every round. So, this time around, he came out more aggressive, employing a vastly different strategy that saw him let his hands go more and, when in peril, tie Ennis up on the inside– a tactic that openly frustrated the champ and resulted in a point deduction in the tenth round.

The tactical change did leave Chukhadzhian more vulnerable to Ennis’ offense and he was touched up significantly more than in their first outing. In the fifth round, for example, he was rocked and had to take a knee.

Ennis, though, also took more shots than in their first encounter. As a matter of fact, the Philadelphia native fighting at home at the Wells Fargo Center, took way too many flush shots over the course of the fight and was pretty much getting tagged at will in the eleventh and twelfth rounds. If Chukhadzhian had more power, things would’ve gotten very dicey.

But, as things were, the challenger was really only equipped to make Ennis look somewhat regular, just as he did in their first bout.

After the win, Ennis sounded apologetic in his post-fight interview, half-bemused and half-dejected, laying the blame for his less-than-stellar performance at the feet of his opposition.

“When you’re fighting bottom-tier guys, sometimes you can’t get up for them,” he told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “When I fight top guys, I’m going to be way better. I need top guys.”

After the dust settled on this uneven outing, the talk was of Ennis moving up to 154. Promoter Eddie Hearn would even talk up the possibility of a Boots Ennis-Vergil Ortiz bout at junior middleweight.

In the co-main event, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KOs) proved what everyone already knew– he was just way too good for Pedro Guevara (42-5-1, 22 KOs).

The defending WBC super flyweight champion showed no respect for his overmatched challenger and walked right to him, immediately firing off big shots that forced his foe into retreat.

The end of the bout came in the third when Rodriguez landed a big straight left hand that dropped the Mazatlan-born Guevara and signaled the beginning of the end. A few seconds later, the San Antonio, Texas native landed a jarring right uppercut that dropped Guevara again, moving the ref to wave off the contest.

The 24-year-old Rodriquez now, hopefully, moves on to bigger and better things. Hopefully, a showdown with future Hall of Famer Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.